Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common non­communicable diseases globally. Dermatoglyphics as a diagnostic tool is now well established for a number of diseases with strong hereditary basis. The objective of the present study was to understand the association of C­line polymorphism and 4th inter digital (ID4) patterns with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In the present study 30 clinically diagnosed cases of adult female T2DM patients from West Bengal, India and 60 healthy adult females without having the history of diabetes as controls were incorporated from the same area and population. Bilateral palm prints of each individual were collected following standard ink and roller method and analyzed for C­line termination polymorphism and ID4 patterns. The overall frequency of C line termination points on both hand of T2DM patients were 45%, 41.67% and 3.33% for ulnar, radial and proximal position, respectively. These were 64.17%, 35.83% and 13.33% for ulnar, radial and proximal position, respectively in controls. The overall frequency of absent C line was 10% in T2DM patients and 3.33% in controls. The overall frequency of occurrence of ID4 patterns in T2DM and control subject was 76.67% and 30.83%, respectively. The result also revealed significant (p<0.05) differences in the distribution of line C termination points and ID4 patterns between T2DM patients and controls. The present study indicated that the C­line polymorphism and ID4 pattern may be used for early identification of risk group individuals for surveillance with a view to prevent the disease onset.

Keyword: Dermatoglyphics; C­line; Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus; 4th Inter Digital Patterns; India.